Determining the position of a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, personal media player, wearable device, etc.) can involve any of a variety of techniques, including the use of global positioning system (GPS) (or other satellite-based systems), access points (APs) and/or base stations for radiofrequency (RF)-based location determination, and more. One emerging technology that has been able to provide highly accurate location determination is visible light communication (VLC)-based positioning, which uses light sources with known locations that transmit information by modulating their light, typically at a frequency unnoticeable by human eyes. A mobile device can decode this information to determine its location. (As used herein, a location determination may also be called a “position fix” or “location fix” of the mobile device.) VLC-based positioning can be a particularly useful positioning system indoors.
VLC-based positioning, however, has its limitations. For one, a mobile device needs an unobstructed view of a modulated light source. This means a location fix using VLC cannot be made while the mobile device is in a user's pocket, purse, bag, etc. Additionally, given the information transmitted by the modulated light sources, it is possible to determine more than just a location fix of a mobile device.